Boost your brain power with these 5 tips

Maintaining a healthy brain is essential as it is the command centre of the entire body. It controls daily functions like motor control, visual and auditory processing, sensation, learning, memory and emotions. Your brain deteriorates as you grow older but the rate is accelerated if you don’t take care of it. Here are some steps you can take to help keep your brain healthy and delay the onset of cognitive decline.

1. Exercise

Studies have shown that exercise helps in increasing brain power apart from strengthening your heart and muscles. Although regular exercise such as walking boosts brain power, aerobic exercise benefits the most as it improves cognitive function and increases the size of
critical brain structures. 

2. Eat and drink right

Include lots of fibre in your diet. A low glycemic diet is beneficial as it is digested slowly in the body and gives a more steady flow of energy to the brain which optimizes the brain’s long-term health and performance. Recent studies have suggested that Mediterranean diet which is rich in fruits, vegetables, olive oil and seafood with high content of Omega-3 fatty acids could be the secret to keeping the brain in good working condition. Also avoid your alcohol intake and avoid cigarettes as they impair your brain function.

3. Meditate

Meditation can strengthen the connections between brain cells and allow it to process information faster. Researchers revealed that meditation strengthens the telomeres, which is associated with ageing and the hippocampus, the brain`s key centre of learning and memory formation

4. Stimulate your noggins

Challenge and stimulate your brain daily; read a book, write down your thoughts, learn a new language or play a game. Studies suggest that spending at least 15 minutes a day doing a crossword, sudoku or other puzzles could be beneficial for your brain as unfamiliar stimuli and new mental challenges can stimulate neuron growth. 

5. Sleep well

Erratic sleep pattern can lead to memory loss and brain deterioration. Sleep for about seven hours every night as research showed that getting too much or too little sleep can prematurely age a person`s brain by up to seven years.